Knitting pin



June 15, 1948. B. G. LEWIS 2,443,540

KNITTING PIN Filed June 11, 1946 BERNARD QEORGF Lew/.5

Patented June 15, 1948 pplication June .11, 1946,:Serial No. 675,965 In Great Britain October ;17 71945 This invention relates toknitting pins, needles and the like, made of metal or other material.

Usually knitting pins are provided with a knob or enlargement at the end remote from the point to ,provide a stop for preventing accidental rev place ,on.the end of the-,pi'n. known, however, to form the knob in one with the metal of -moval of the stitches from that end of theipin.

the pin, the integrally formed knob being produced by the process of upsetting or bumping-up the end of the metal wire or rod in suitable tools. Ihe integral knob produced in this way is usually finished at its maximum diameter of circular form coaxial with the pin, and is sometimes made cylindrical with a slightly domed end face and sometimes conical with a slightly convex end face.

Pins or needles finished with coaxial heads of circular form are free to roll when placed on a table, chair or the like, and this causes considerable inconvenience and annoyance to the user.

It is common practice in the trade to mark knitting pins and needles with characters, either embossed or in relief, which indicate the gauge or size of the pin and sometimes also other particulars such as the trade-mark or name of the manufacturer. These characters are generally formed on flats provided for the purpose on the pin itself. These flats and markings interfere with the smooth working of the stitches on that part of the pin near the head and make it desirable, if this interference is to be avoided, to employ, for work having a given number of stitches, longer pins than would be really necessary were it not for the flats and their markings near the heads.

It is an object of the present invention to provide knitting pins, needles and the like with heads which will prevent them from rolling.

A further object is to provide knitting pins, needles and the like with heads which not only Will prevent them from rolling but which will afford suitable surfaces for carrying markings or characters indicating the gauge of the pin or other particulars.

It is a feature of the present invention that the head of the knitting pin, needle or the like is provided with flat faces of substantial area and on opposite sides of the head, these faces preferably being parallel. A pin or needle provided with a head having flats of substantial area will not roll on any surface upon which it is placed. Moreover, the flats on the head afford suitable surfaces .on which characters can be displayed so that the surface of the metal wire or rodof the ,pin from the point right up to the headmay bejeft smooth or unbroken.

,Inorder that the invention maybe clearly'understood, it will not be'more fully described with reference to the embodiments shown in'the .accompanying drawings; wherein:

Figure 1 is a'perspective view of theknitting .pin.

Figures 2 and 3 are sideelevations :of the headed end of the knitting pin'shown in Figure 1, these two views being 'takenat' right angles to one another.

Figure 4 is an enlarged section taken on the line 44 of Figure 3 to show how the head is secured to the wire or rod of the pin.

Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional side elevation of a metal head before being forced on to the end of the Wire or rod of the pin.

Figures 6 and 7 are similar views to Figures 2 and 3 but show a modified form of head.

Figure 8 is a plan of Figure 6.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings, the knitting pin comprises a cylindrical rod or wire 6 pointed at one end and having a head 2 at the other end. The surface of the rod or wire I is smooth or unbroken throughout its length from the point to the head 2, and the latter has two parallel flat front and rear surfaces 3 which are of substantial area and bounded by a flat rectangular inner end face 4 from which the rod or wire I projects, outwardly divergent flat side surfaces 5, and convex outer end face 6 contiguous with the side surfaces 5 and which is fiat in a transverse direction. The fiat parallel surfaces 3 prevent the knitting pin rolling upon any surface on which it is placed, and either or both of said surfaces 3 may bear characters, preferably in relief or embossed, such as the trade-mark of the manufacturer and the gauge or size number of rod or wire I, as shown for example in Fig. 2.

The head 2 is preferably made as a separate part and is formed with a recess or socket, extending into the body of the head from its inner end face 4, to receive and make a tight push or force fit on the unpointed end of the rod or wire I as shown in Fig. 4. The heads may be produced as die castings if they are of metal, or as pressure or injection mouldings if they are made of other materials such as thermo-plastic or thermo-setting substances, usually termed plastics. In the die or mould a plurality of the heads may be produced simultaneously, complete with the desired markings on the fiat front and rear surfaces 3 and with the recess or socket for receiving the rod or wire I. In this latter connec-- tion and in the case of a metal head the recess 01' socket in the head may be made with a very slight taper as shown in Fig. so as to afford an interference fit when the head 2 is forced on to the rod or wire I; thi results in a very secure mounting. The die cast metal heads would be polished, to provide the necessary finish, before being attached each to its rod or wire.

The embodiment shown in Figs. 6, 7 and 8 of the drawings is generally similar to that shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the only material difference being that the flat front and rear faces 3 of the head are of slightly different shape and are bounded by contiguous side and end faces 5 and 6 which are convex both longitudinally and transversely.

I claim:

1. A knitting pin comprising a cylindrical rod pointed at one end and having a head at the other end, said head having two fiat parallel front and rear faces which are of substantial area, and being bounded at its end nearer the pointed end of the rod by a flat face from which said rod projects and which is of substantially the same area as the cross-section of the rod adjacent the head, at its sides by side faces which diverge away from the pointed end of the rod, and at its outer end by a face which is contiguous with the divergent side faces,

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,045,268 Graham June 23, 1936 2,248,341 Crumb July 8, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 235,659 Great Britain June 24, 1925 405,509 Great Britain Feb. 1, 1934 485,448 Great Britain May 19, 1938 490,025 Great Britain Aug. 8, 1938 527,913 Great Britain Oct. 18, 1940 

